Democrats in the Senate remain upbeat about passing energy legislation that includes limits on greenhouse gas emissions, but have not yet nailed down the form it will take after a caucus meeting today.
Using words like thrilling and inspirational to describe the 90-minute meeting, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and several senators involved in writing energy and climate legislation said the 59-member caucus agreed that the Senate should try to pass legislation this summer.
Reid said the caucus agreed the bill must address the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, help create millions of new jobs and reduce pollution. We're going to write a bill that sets reasonable goals over a reasonable timeframe that will benefit both our environment and our economy. We're going to write a bill that can pass the Senate. My caucus is ready to get to work but we need the cooperation of brave Republicans, Reid told reporters after the meeting.
One of the key motivators for taking action now is the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will begin regulating stationary sources in January 2011, said Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts), co-author of draft legislation that calls for GHG reductions of 17pc by 2020 and 83pc by 2050, from 2005 levels. Everybody was in agreement that this is the moment, he said.
The EPA regulations have been criticized by many coal-state Democrats who back legislation to delay the agency's new permit requirements for stationary sources. But it appears that most of the Democrats have taken the view that passing legislation this summer would be the best way to give electricity generators and other industries regulatory certainty.
The best thing to do is a bill that gives the certainty and predictability [on] how we're going to gradually reduce CO2, said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), who has introduced legislation to regulate fossil-fuel producers through a cap-and-dividend program.
But how the Senate bill would address GHG emissions is not yet clear. The Democrats said they were not ready to discuss specifics, such as whether the bill will include a cap-and-trade program for utilities only or one that applies to other sectors as well. That could depend on the outcome of a postponed meeting between President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of senators. The meeting, originally set to take place yesterday, is now scheduled for 29 June.
Using words like thrilling and inspirational to describe the 90-minute meeting, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and several senators involved in writing energy and climate legislation said the 59-member caucus agreed that the Senate should try to pass legislation this summer.
Reid said the caucus agreed the bill must address the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, help create millions of new jobs and reduce pollution. We're going to write a bill that sets reasonable goals over a reasonable timeframe that will benefit both our environment and our economy. We're going to write a bill that can pass the Senate. My caucus is ready to get to work but we need the cooperation of brave Republicans, Reid told reporters after the meeting.
One of the key motivators for taking action now is the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will begin regulating stationary sources in January 2011, said Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts), co-author of draft legislation that calls for GHG reductions of 17pc by 2020 and 83pc by 2050, from 2005 levels. Everybody was in agreement that this is the moment, he said.
The EPA regulations have been criticized by many coal-state Democrats who back legislation to delay the agency's new permit requirements for stationary sources. But it appears that most of the Democrats have taken the view that passing legislation this summer would be the best way to give electricity generators and other industries regulatory certainty.
The best thing to do is a bill that gives the certainty and predictability [on] how we're going to gradually reduce CO2, said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), who has introduced legislation to regulate fossil-fuel producers through a cap-and-dividend program.
But how the Senate bill would address GHG emissions is not yet clear. The Democrats said they were not ready to discuss specifics, such as whether the bill will include a cap-and-trade program for utilities only or one that applies to other sectors as well. That could depend on the outcome of a postponed meeting between President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of senators. The meeting, originally set to take place yesterday, is now scheduled for 29 June.
